Wedding Cinematography

Lesson 8 of 33

Lighting & Bridal Prep Environment

Wedding Cinematography

Lesson 8 of 33

Lighting & Bridal Prep Environment

Lesson Info

Lighting & Bridal Prep Environment

so now we're going to talk about we touched on briefly was types of lighting that we're gonna be dealt the most common light that we're going to be dealt with is ah hard light hard light is a bad light it produced a sharp head shadows things that are really unflattering to a bride so we still have to deal with it is going to happen sometime you're gonna have even ceremonies that happened earlier in the day we're going to have to deal with this hard light situations so when it comes to planning for a ceremony which will get into later tomorrow part of your shop planning process should always be light and hot of kind of shooting the best lighting environment and like I said before you're always looking for areas where the lighting's even at least um I'm gonna skip through here this is an example of what happens with hard light it creates sees these hard shadows but it's still situations that you have to be able to shoot him you can use those shadows to create dramatic effects in your ima...

gery with with video that's that's a great thing about video as opposed teo still photography is that you're dealing with motion it's motion still so you can do a lot of things that are create thes dramatic effects on dh kind of add to your your visual eye candy if you will because we're always looking for content so even though we're kind of dealt these harsh shadows you can almost you can use him to your advantage really then you have soft light which is very long contrast hardly any shadows softer light is always a better light and you get imagery like this very even toned no shadows everything just looking nice and even and very beautiful I could shoot in soft light all day long and it's like in contrast you can always add contrast in post you know give it some pop give it some sizzle but this is primarily what you're looking for is nice soft white everywhere you shoot even if they're even if you're in a situation where there's hard light look for a narrow with nurse soft even light it maybe it's shaded by a tree maybe some buildings but you have to make sure that all your angles are kind of uh nice and even and not born out the's cameras they shoot very compressed video so it's not like shooting photography or are shooting video say like on a red camera where you're shooting it raw and you have a lot of latitude in terms of your dynamic range with these cameras pretty much which is shoot is what you get so if you if you brought your highlights with these cameras they're pretty much gone if you if you cross your blacks too much that detail is probably gone forever so just be very careful and that's why just the camera settings on my camera just to give me at least a little bit of latitude in terms ofthe my contrast and sharpness but this is a light that you're looking for this is like that you should always go go for in terms of your candid shooting your first looks you should always be looking for lighting like this there's a lot of time like I tell you most times out uh we're dealing with a couple we're dealing with a with a harsh light outside so it gets it gets very challenging especially you want to introduce like a couple different angles because one angle may look great but maybe your other angle it has a blown up background you know and that blown up background on video just does not look the same you know with photography you can take it in tow light room and you can kind of tone down certain things where where we can't you don't you don't have the same latitude so when's the best time when's the best time to film anybody know magic are the golden hours exactly the first and last hour correct and then you get beautiful imagery that looks like this that's just gorgeous and you could just really begin to create shots you know the colors in the sky change and just really ieds all these dramatic elements to the shots that you love you love to shoot in this all day long this this magic our lighting but unfortunately that's not the case we're just ah we're not doubt those situations so in terms of bright perhaps because we're going to get into bright perhaps right now and we have this amazing bright prep set for this next segment and we have ah where you have a bride wear makeup artists we have beautiful bride and we would make up artists so we're gonna bring them in but before we bring them in I'd like to talk about setting the stage when we talked a little bit about educating the bride about lighting and letting her know exactly what we need which is what we talked about we already have the camera we just needed a bride the high chair and some natural light and this is what we've been kind of doubt here and this honestly this is this is what I'm dealt about ninety percent of the time out of wedding on ly because I've talked to them I've kind of educated them I've told them exactly what I need to make the bride look I was beautiful she wants appear in the film on dh this this is situated so that have now very important for me is to show up before the bride sits to do her make up why so that you can move the chair into the position you wanted to be bingo this is so important is the position of the chair because sometimes even though you have a great you got a great light coming in you have a great room got a great bride you have a high chair and all this stuff if if she's doing her makeup faced in and sometimes that happens how many of you had showed up to a bright where there is beautiful light but she's faced into the room into the under exposed part of the room it's not a good student but now she's comfortable now she's half done her makeup and moving her is kind of you know the make make make up our sorority relaxing comfortable with this shooting situation so try to show up before the bright even sits down like even today I talked to the make up artist and we kind of talked like where we're gonna put the chair what's good for you and I told her what's good for me she told me what's good for her and we kind of compromise we we came to a happy medium and that's what you want to do because you still want to be able to let the makeup artist perform theirjob function properly right and you want them to be comfortable and relax and not upset and things like that because you're dealing with the bride's face so you don't want the makeup artist to be stressed out and you know you you definitely don't want the bride to be stressed out so just show up the position of the chair is gonna be very important because when you come in obviously you want her face in the light but she don't want to face in the light direct because then it just creates just a a real flat image you know and with this video and with his visual eye candy that we're trying to produce its okay toe have some dramatic lighting you know that's that's kind of like what we're looking at and we also want to be able to shoot from anywhere in the room so keep that in mind if I just have if I just have a bride facing a wall I'm not gonna be able to shoot from over here because I'm just going to get her back you know but if I angled a little bit at least have some side profile you know if you want to do some silhouettes shooting or if you want to put some stuff in your foreground or maybe use some reflective surfaces this this room that's that setup here is perfect because as soon as you walk in what do you see right away besides the make up chair you see the vanity you see some reflective surfaces you see all these things that you can begin to start creating some interesting looking shots because that's what we're looking for we're looking to create some interesting looking shots so when you walk into a room most of us walk into a room within within a minute you won't even know okay I'm gonna be shooting from over here I'm gonna get this shot and you already inspired by just the elements that are in the room that you can now use in your favor to start creating some of these really interesting looking shots so that's going to play a factor for the chair correct because of the mayor's over there and you know maybe you want to shoot off the marriage is something that you want to do some forgot it probably wouldn't be enough good ideas I have the chair facing this way so the positioning of the chair as as as little as it may seem it's such an important deal is this positioning of the chair and obviously at the end you don't want to make sure that you know it's okay with a makeup artist and she's good with it and generally it's it's definitely the bride's definitely be exposed enough to where it's going to be a good situation for her to get an accurate representation of what the bride's face is gonna look like outside so so we've come in we've kind of scanned the room and and I found that this position is probably gonna be the best and then I'm good I just kind of leave it at that and make partial come in with our beautiful bride and they will start there routine all right now you have to use um you've got to use common sense when it comes to film the bride because there's going to be a certain stage like this is the beginning stage of makeup and this is this is really it's not really the stage that the bride wants to see herself in in the film she she kind of wants the finishing stuff and this is why I use this time to be creative and not so intimate with the bride creative meaning I'm shooting from a distance I'm shooting mohr wide more foreground more silhouette stuff that really doesn't reveal her face eso close up yet later on what your search you know final details and things like that on her face some rights you can't just start shooting from the beginning and you're okay and then for the most part but but even those brides they want you to wait until the end until it's kind of the final touches and things like that we have a bright today very beautiful I could start shooting her up close and personal from the beginning and I would be ok all the way until then but like I said even a bride like this she still wants you to kind of get the final look off what she's gonna look like and things like that so um let me get my camera on dh I think something's gonna bring on set we'll go through some of the shots oh I get it okay cool and two questions how much how often do you change your lynch's during the bridal prepped and what lenses are you using I used to make two lenses mainly I used the cannon fifty one point two and I also use a gorgeous lens it's ah it's a it's a carl zeiss one hundred macro two point oh it's a very sharp lines and it's the imagery office lines is it's it's gorgeous it's not cheap the lens is about eighteen hundred dollars but it's but it's a great lens and you can use it during other parts of the day as well because it is ah to point a lens so you can use it for the ceremony you use it for some reception stuff it's a very versatile lens and it's built like a tank because I've had I've had this lens for years before the dsr semen came out I was using the thirty five millimeter lens adapters and this was one of my first lenses and I've dropped this lens I mean I've mistreated this lens and it still works perfectly after all this time so this is great lens but this combination here I use ninety percent of the time they're in perhaps this is all I used is just these two lenses the camera and a mono pod so it's no I don't have a shoulder rig I don'thave eyepieces on having none of that stuff I just literally have these two lenses and if I want to go wide or something that I've got the new version two cannon twenty four to seventy which is it's a gorgeous lens I really love the lens on any other any other questions any questions here ok and like I said we'll um we'll shoot a little bit and I think they're they're tethered to the camera right yeah so so when you first start shooting you're going to be in a new environment here with different type of light and I'm gonna be able to see I don't think so while they tether the camera we'll talk about some other things so what's gonna happen here is very important you're going to be in a new environment from say like your last your last year when you were shooting a wedding reception now now you're like brighton early plenty of light coming through so you're probably going to be blown out so as a question just in general this is from c why horse and just wondering about um when you're actually recording and you're trying to get the audio but just the live interaction that you're having with people like the communication how much communication is done before you start shooting I guess what the people that are in the room and the with the makeup artists and how many commerce how much conversation have you had not too much conversation I definitely want to know what's going on sol kind of their conversations that I'll generally have with the bride I will ask the bride mainly if she's going to be doing traditional vows or personal house because you're going to personal about that means there's a chance that she may be writing out the vows and I wantto want that opportunity to be able to capture that soul oscar I said are you doing personal traditional vows and show him to a personal dallas I said great have you written your vows yet I wrote him but they're on the computer I still have to transform to the paper and I said great I want to be able to capture you right in your browser making that transfer from computer to paper that she's going to use for the actual ceremony that type of thing you know so I just want my conversations with the bride is more kind of like feeling that this new environment seeing what's going to be going on if there's going to be any gift giving if there's going to be challenging to be written I'll find the maid of honor and I'll ask if there's a speech that's potentially going to be written because all this stuff that you record during prep say like somebody writing their vows or writing a speech you can actually tie that stuff into the actual audio of it live in the film so and that's that's very component to watch when you actually see like the preparation of this personal vows that are now being read at the ceremony so that's why it's always good to be on your toes asked a lot of questions because if you don't ask what's going on and somebody's transferring some very personal vows in the next room and you're oblivious to because you never asked you just missed what you just missed all this content you were always looking for content we cannot afford to not have that content so just ask questions you know is your speeches they're gifts is there any letter writing personal values traditional about if they say it's traditional values then it's just it is what it is but at least he asked because if it was personal vows I definitely want I want the opportunity to be able to record that that's so so we're in a new environment might remember um I like that and here I'm working with my kelvin on my camera which is basically gonna let me doll in um the color temperature to my taste however my eyes kind of saying this but hopefully I'm going to be in the right range you know fifty six hundred till my eyes is still a little bit cool even though it's balance for daylight but I'm gonna warm it up just a little because I like the warmer tones warmer tones is happier colder is kind of you know maybe not so happy so I'm definitely a fan of the warmer tones make sure you adjust your not here the native aya so on this particular camera cause I'm using the cannon one d c the native aya so is is four hundred give me the most latitude and posed as faras dynamic range and things like that but all cameras are different so my advice to you would be learn your camera learned you know what what the native aya so czar and try to stick to those as best you can now how do we compensate for exposure now because I'm gonna have to have a lot of light coming through the windows here if I'm not compensated with my eyes so and my amateur I'm almost forced to shoot at a higher shutter unless I kind of manipulate the aperture and things like that so there's going to be the two things so some people don't like to shoot a high shutter um but sometimes you don't have a choice on these cameras they don't have built in andy filters and unless you're gonna start screwing on andy filters for every shot which I don't recommend this job is very running gun so I just don't feel like we have the time to be switching out filters and things like that I think it's just a matter of making quick adjustments either with you shudder you're amateur or your eyes so you know hopefully it's just a shutter not a room like this I'll generally if this area were a little bit darker I would shoot probably at a high rise so just so I'd be able to compensate just in case I'd have to film something thing further into the room and not so close to the window such as maybe a bride's dad walking in or somebody walking in with the gift I'd want to be able to transition to that person without having to go into the isso menu because if I have to start adjusting I esso and shutter and aperture and all these things together I'm gonna miss the shot so I just want to be able to compensate very quickly with my shutter but if the primary focus is the bride I'll probably keep it at its native I s o and I'll just make adjustments to the shutter and we could just assume you're always at two point eight for the most part well I'm on a fifty lens now and this lens I'm generally at about two point oh two point five two point eight in that range I'm not ah like I said before I'm not at once you two are on point eight because I don't want I don't want like an eyeball and focus on the nose out of focus

Class Description

As he shares what he’s learned about filmmaking working with NBA All-Stars, high powered CEOs, and everyone in between, Ray will guide you through every stage of filming a wedding, from first looks to post-production. You’ll learn about the key gear needed for documenting weddings. Ray will cover basic film structure and time-shifting methods. You’ll also explore both basic and advanced composition techniques that you can easily integrate into your workflow. Ray will also share his proven sales and marketing techniques for connecting with clients and turning consultations into sales.

By the end of this course, you’ll have the skills you need to market your services, capture weddings on film, and give your clients a jaw-dropping record of their once-in-a-lifetime event.

a Creativelive Student

A couple of years ago, I made a bold and somewhat wreckless choice to take out a home equity loan in order to help finance my son's dream to start a wedding cinematography business. Together, we embarked on a journey to learn everything we could about the business. The most important choice we made was to purchase the Ray Roman Wedding Cinematography course. This class saved us so much money as it helped us understand our camera, audio and essential and non-essential gear. We were inspired by the artistry in Ray's work and have implemented many of his techniques in order to Improve the quality and production value of our films. In under three years, we have filmed over 50 weddings and our company is well established in our area. Buying Ray's class was easily the best investment I made for my son's business, One Night Only Films. Thank you Creativelive and Ray Roman for helping us start a successful and profitable business.

a Creativelive Student

WOW!!! What an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to be there in studio with the creative live team and Ray and all I have to say is it was amazing! The creative live team was FIRST class and this course was jammed packed with information!!! Forgive me if I asked to many questions but I wanted just to pull all the info I could of out of Ray. From being there in person and owning the course itself I have to say that this is a MUST have for all cinematographers of any level! Buy it and watch it again and again! Thank you creative live for this amazing opportunity!
-Aaron
gracemedia.info

Gingerbread Productions

So good, that I've returned to it again! An incredible course, filled with information. Along with Rob Adams' course, I believe this to be the best Wedding Cinematography training possible on the Net. Ray is an absolute genius. Humble. Respectful. Intelligent. His tips of using the bride to get things done his way, are genius. The way that he constantly refers back to his wife, is great. He speaks in a way that trains the brain. I take in every word because of his presentation skills and what he did with a monopod helped me greatly in my first wedding. After viewing both this and Rob Adams' course, I feel ready to start doing this. More of the same, Creative Live! I would love another two tutorials like this, and would instantly purchase them! Thank you and thank you Ray! Inspirational.